


Fight Well

by katling



Series: Cullrian Appreciation Week [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: M/M, mentions of samson and maddox, temple of dumat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-06 03:23:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6736054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katling/pseuds/katling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Here is my contribution for Day 2 of Cullrian Appreciation Week over on tumblr. The theme for today is: On the battlefield</p>
<p>At the Temple of Dumat, Dorian sees another side of his lover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fight Well

Dorian was beginning to realise that he had never actually seen Cullen fight before. He’d certainly seen him train and spar with Cassandra and Blackwall and the Iron Bull but he’d never quite grasped the subtle differences for a warrior between sparring and an actual battle. Admittedly he’d never really cared about those subtle differences before but when the warrior in question was your lover, it added an entirely different spectrum to the matter.

He’d watched Cassandra and Bull and Blackwall go toe to toe with Red Templars and Venatori and bandits and whoever else they faced many times but they’d never caused his heart to stop in the way watching Cullen duck under the wild swipe of a Behemoth and close in with the enormous creature did. A strangled noise escaped his throat and he was just about to cast a spell when Cullen’s sword slid home and the man skipped nimbly out of the way as the Behemoth toppled in death.

Cullen then turned and when he saw Dorian was looking at him, he gave a grin the likes of which Dorian had never seen before. It was alive and jubilant, it was savage and furious, it was the grin of a warrior doing what he does best and enjoying himself. 

For the first time Dorian began to realise how _constrained_ Cullen was by his current job. How it, in many ways, _diminished_ the man despite all the good he did with it. It made him wonder just how much of Cullen’s mood, his aches and pains, came from the lyrium withdrawal and how much came from the frustration and despair of being denied the opportunity to do the very thing he was so good at.

The battle swept them both up then and it wasn’t until much later, after they’d stormed the Temple of Dumat, realised they’d lost Samson _again_ and found poor Maddox that the thought came back to Dorian. They were in camp and he was watching as Cullen lived up to his nickname of the ‘Lion of the Inquisition’, pacing and growling as the Inquisitor tried to calm him down. He looked magnificent and Dorian was waiting for the Inquisitor to throw up her arms in defeat so that he could go and collect his lover and soothe him in far more effective ways.

“He fights as well as ever,” Cassandra said as she took a seat at the campfire.

Dorian’s gaze flickered over to her momentarily. “He misses it.” It wasn’t a question, not to anyone who had seen Cullen fight today.

Cassandra sighed. “I know. He does a superb job as Commander but, in truth, there would be many advantages to Cullen and I exchanging places and roles within the Inquisition. However, when we began this, he was in no fit state to travel extensively.” She arched an eyebrow at him and he nodded an unspoken acknowledgement of what she was talking about. “And now… he has gained such respect and honour as the Inquisition’s Commander that it would severely undermine not only him but the Inquisitor and the Inquisition as a whole if he were removed from the position.”

Dorian grimaced and nodded his understanding. It was true. Cullen had gained enormous respect, especially in Orlais, for his tactics and strategy and it was not uncommon for Orlesian commanders to not only write to Cullen to seek his advice and counsel but also to come to Skyhold to consult with him personally. If Cullen were to step down as Commander, even if he remained with the Inquisition and took Cassandra’s place in the Inner Circle, there would be questions asked and plentiful rumours abounding, mostly damaging to the Inquisition, as to why it had happened, no matter what official reason was given. Even if the official reason was eventually accepted, the damage would have been done.

“I would recommend to the Inquisitor that he be permitted to lead some sorties on a more regular basis but…” Cassandra sighed and shrugged. “Since dealing with the Wardens and the Ball, matters have been escalating and his presence is needed in Skyhold.”

“Until I saw him fight in a true battle, I never realised…” Dorian waved a hand, unable to describe what he meant.

Cassandra smiled faintly. “I know. He is a warrior, not a bureaucrat.”

They were both distracted by the Inquisitor’s exasperated “By the Creators, Cullen!” and then the Elven woman stormed off towards where Solas was meditating on the edge of the camp.

Dorian chuckled. “And on that note…”

Cassandra waved him off with another of those faint smiles. Dorian got to his feet and headed over to where Cullen was still pacing back and forth with an eye on soothing the Commander’s ruffled hackles and with a new appreciation of his lover.


End file.
